Hurricane Dora Is Now A Typhoon But Did It Make The Maui Fires Worse?

The devastating impact of the Maui Fires has left me, like many others, in shock. According to reports, the death toll has reached at least eighty people, with the possibility of it rising further. Now, let’s delve into Hurricane Dora and its impact on the Maui fires, as well as explore its historic feat.

Before we dive deep, it’s essential to understand why Hurricane Dora has carved its place in the record books. Just a few hours ago, Dora crossed the International Date Line (180° longitude). Now, you might be wondering what’s so remarkable about this. The key point is that Dora maintained its intensity throughout this transition, changing its classification from a hurricane to a typhoon. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) website explains that, “In the North Atlantic, central North Pacific, and eastern North Pacific, the term hurricane is used….in the Northwest Pacific, it is called a typhoon.”

According to The Washington Post, Dora has become only the second storm on record to maintain hurricane strength while traversing from the eastern to western Pacific. The first storm, Hurricane John, accomplished this feat in 1994. Dora holds another distinction as well. It originated as a seedling in the Atlantic basin back in mid-July, giving it a unique “double ocean identity.” While these meteorological details are captivating, there has been much speculation about whether Hurricane Dora exacerbated the deadly Maui fires.

Hurricane Dora did not directly hit Hawaii, but it did pass to the south of a drought-stricken Maui. Numerous reports suggest that the winds associated with Dora likely contributed to the spread of the fires. The NASA Earth Observatory website mentions, “The presence of a strong high-pressure area to the north of the island and Hurricane Dora to the south may have contributed to the strong winds.” In the northern hemisphere, winds circulate clockwise around high-pressure systems and counterclockwise around low-pressure systems like Dora. Maui found itself in the path of the strong easterly winds resulting from this combined system, akin to baseball feeding machines.

While Dora likely played a role, scientists are still debating its overall contribution. Dr. Phillipe Papin, a tropical weather expert at the National Hurricane Center, suggests that the initial attribution to Dora may have been overstated. He points out that Dora’s wind field was relatively compact and thus had minimal impact on the low-level winds in Maui. Conversely, the flow associated with the high-pressure system seemed to have a more significant influence.

Professor Clark Evans from the University of Wisconsin’s meteorology department shared a similar analysis on the X platform. The severity of the Maui fires, along with the persistence of Hurricane Dora (and its typhoon counterpart), will undoubtedly initiate a series of scientific studies in the years to come. It will be fascinating to uncover what these studies reveal about Dora’s role in the fires. Regardless, the tragic Maui fires serve as a poignant reminder of how meteorology, climate, and wildfires are deeply interconnected.

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